VW GTI (2006-09)

Parts Required:

New shocks, mounting bolts

Hot Tip:

Check your bushings

Performance Gain:

Better handling

Complementary Modification:

New springs

The shocks on your car are an important component of the suspension system and along with the springs should be checked at least once a year. You want to look for worn out bushings/mounts along with any damage including leaking oil. People also like to change their shocks when performing suspension modifications on their cars. If you are interested in changing your shocks for aftermarket or a sportier model make sure you match up the springs to go with your new shocks. The shocks and springs work in tandem and just changing one may result in worse performance than when you started.

There are two ways to change the shocks on a GTI MkV. If you are going to be changing or removing the springs as well please see our article on removing you springs and then remove the upper 16mm nuts and the 21mm bolt combination on the bottom of the shock.

This article will show you how to remove the shocks with the vehicle already safely lifted and supported. Wear safety glasses whenever you work under your car.

Note: all of the suspension hardware is single use only and must be replaced once removed.

Figure 1

Support the weight of the wheel assembly with a floor jack (red arrow). At this point the shock is helping keep the downward force of the spring in place.

Depending on where you live and the age of the car the lower mounting hardware may be severely corroded. Check before you begin the job and hit the nut and bolt with some penetrating oil if needed. You can slightly lower the floor jack to take the pressure off the shock then remove the 21mm bolt (red arrows). You may need to slightly compress the shock to get it out of the car.

Under the cover is where the top of the shock connects to the mount. Volkswagen recommends using special tools T10001/9, T10001/11 and T10001/1 to remove the shock but you may be able to do the job using a crescent wrench to hold the shock still (yellow arrow) and use a16mm wrench to turn the nut (red arrow). The easiest way to do this is use an impact gun but most of the time you can make it work with the two wrench combo. Installation is the reverse of removal.